Modern surgery often involves the use of implants or prostheses to replace joints in the body. In this regard, implants or prostheses for the replacement of an intervertebral disc are known. One type of such known implants involves the use of metal plates or pads that are attached to the vertebral end plates of the disc space, with the metal pad either being articulating pads or supporting a polymeric spacer between the pads. Such implants can require preparation of the vertebral end plates, and can be sensitive to the positioning of the metal pads on the end plates. Furthermore, such implant may not entirely emulate normal spinal motion, and can introduce a risk that the implant or the spacer may be forced out of the disc space due to abnormal motion of the spine created by the implant.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,093,205 issued Jul. 25, 2000 to McLeod et al (the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference) discloses another type of implant wherein a core of elastomeric or visco-elastic material is retained within a continuous piece of fabric that forms flanges for attachment to the vertebra adjacent the disc space to retain the core within the disc space. While such a device may be suitable for its intended purpose, there is always room for improvement.